I was actually guilty of that today.... I have been weight training my friend and he went over to the squat rack and started curling.... I told him ... but noooo.... In all fairness it was planet fitness... **** planet fitness...

I'd like to add Guy Who Spends Forever Loading Bar For 1-Rep Max And Then...

Okay, it's a shitty title but the incident happened at a gym I frequented... dude comes in and puts his towel on the 'good' bench... and then drags it under the squat rack.
This is located right next to the Smith machine.
I don't like the Smith machine either, but dude's benching on his own and logic would suggest the Smith would be a good bet for him.

He wanders around the gym for five minutes collecting plates up and starts loading the bar up. He stops after a while and gets his phone out and rings his phone-a-friend.
"What's my one-rep max again?"
*unheard reply*
"okay"

He gathers more plates, and starts to make an impressive pattern with the weights as he's loading the bar (not replacing the ones he's discarded, mind you... there's just a stack of orphan plates scattered around the bench). We guessed he was thinking about aerodynamics.

My buddy and I watched with interest, not least because we were going to be squatting in a while (small gym with a lot of machines, but only 1 squat rack & decent bar).

So, Guy Who Spends Forever Etc surveys his construction. He has the self-satisfied look of an Egyptian pyramid-builder as he admires his handiwork. He sits on the end of the bench, looking much unlike a man who is about to bench press (I think) about 150kg. A minute or so later, his phone comes out.
"It's all ready. Have you left work yet?"
*unheard reply, but definitely negative, possibly mentioning the guy's hungry and he's going to get food before he comes to the gym*
"Yeah. See you later then"

Guy stands up and walks away from the bench. Looks like training partner/phone a friend guy has stood him up.
We rejoiced, for is it not said that one man's disappointment is two dudes' bonus happy squat time?
It isn't?
Oh, how right you are, gentle reader.

Just as I'm about to shout "Selena, you forgot your towel", the guy (now being referred to as Dickhead) ambles back through with a couple of penis-weight dumbbells and proceeds to do limp concentration curls on the edge of the bench.

We went off to do some more warm-ups. The lunging was done in studied, angry silence, with just the sound of our teeth grinding and our inseams stretching.

At the end of my patience, I went through to Dickhead. About 45 minutes had elapsed since he'd come in. He'd tied two stations up, and could have made a fort out of discarded plates. I did the decent thing and asked him if he'd like us to spot him.
He goldfished a moment (mouth open/mouth close, eyes blank), before saying that his mate was coming.
Me: "probably safer if the two of us spot you... that's a decent weight you have on there"
Him: "I've nearly lifted this on my own before. But I was tired, so I didn't quite make it"
Me: "Mate, that's a LOT of weight to lift with only one spotter. Honestly, we don't mind spotting you." this was true... it was a very friendly gym, hence us not being more forceful. Plus it was attached to a karate school and you never quite knew who was a AssMegaKickBot 2000.
Him: "well, it's only around my bodyweight, so I don't see the need, but thanks"
He looked about 70kgs max. There must have been 150kg on the bar. Quick translation... he's probably 155 pounds and he's loaded 330+.

Realisation hit me like a well-constructed metaphor.. "mate", I said, "your friend meant pounds, not kilos"
MOAR goldfish.
Him: "Oh. Right. Just, in my old gym, they were all in pounds. The weights"
Me: "Well, no harm done. What say we set this up for you properly, you can do your 1-rep max, we'll spot you anyway, for safety..."

Guy was a little shaken, realising he almost dropped a big bollock, so he agreed.
My buddy and I broke the bar down and re-loaded it with about 72 kg (but no pretty pattern, sadly) and assumed the position.
"Ready?" I asked, eager to let Dickhead (I now felt a little sorry for calling him names) bang out his 'one rep max' - which we established was actually his personal best - and we could go to squat land.

"We still have to wait for my friend" he said.
"Why?" I asked, being incredulous in the style of a straight man setting up a punchline.
"He's got the camera. We're filming it for YouTube."

LOL.

If you PM me, I'll tell you where we dumped the body.

Where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.

As far as I can tell, the rack shown in the picture is open game. Seriously, it isn't the power rack with the adjustable pins. Not many people use that rack in the picture (at least at my 24 hour) for squats. I use it for deadlifts (need the bar), curls (OH NO), shrugs, and any other exercise that requires a bar that I can load weight on. I always make sure I ask people standing around if they want to work in between my breaks, but still, that rack is fair game.

I hate that guy. I bet he's the kind of douchebag who actually knows jack **** about strength training and only works what he can see in the mirror. He probably walks swinging his arms out wide like his lats are too big but can't do a single pull up. I'm sure he spends an hour and a half doing isolation exercises and therefor has no real strength whatsoever. He'll probably **** up his back in a few years if he has the dedication to keep lifting at all and tell everyone how he was just too badass for his own good. Fucking loser.

To be honest I don't think it's as bad as it's made out to be. I mean, it sucks for people who actually want to use the squat rack as a SQUAT RACK. But most people (at least where I go to) don't ever seem to use it to squat and most seem to use it for curls and shrugs. I usually don't really have a problem with using the squat rack, as I hog the power rack for squats, bench press, etc.

The one I go to in NH has this unbearably loud, eardrum-shattering banshee-wail alarm that goes off if someone grunts while lifting weights, dropping weights, or does a plethora of other **** that piss off the staff.

This is double-great, as now not only is someone curling in the squat rack, but when he grunts from fake overexertion and sets off the alarm, I now have to replace the fucking mirror cuz I launched a dumbell in surprise....

Maybe he just dosnt know the damn machines Phrost! I know Im not a weight lifting genious and even after going to the gym for years I still dont understand half the damn machines and get a little intimidated trying a new one for the first time. Im sure everyone has done the whole... "Should I start with 85 pounds? Or is that way to much? Or is that to little.. wich asshat should I look like today, the ***** who puts to little weight on or the fucker who grabs every plate to do half a rep?"

I think the REAL asshole was the guy who took a picture of some fucker using a machine or rack the incorrect way instead of being a decent human being and suggesting he use a preacher pad bench for his curls like normal fuckers do.

What say YOU!?

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As far as I can tell, the rack shown in the picture is open game. Seriously, it isn't the power rack with the adjustable pins. Not many people use that rack in the picture (at least at my 24 hour) for squats. I use it for deadlifts (need the bar), curls (OH NO), shrugs, and any other exercise that requires a bar that I can load weight on. I always make sure I ask people standing around if they want to work in between my breaks, but still, that rack is fair game.

Now the power rack with the adjustable pins? No curling there please.

Nomination for "I'm That Guy" #1.

Originally Posted by Leon S Kennedy

To be honest I don't think it's as bad as it's made out to be. I mean, it sucks for people who actually want to use the squat rack as a SQUAT RACK. But most people (at least where I go to) don't ever seem to use it to squat and most seem to use it for curls and shrugs. I usually don't really have a problem with using the squat rack, as I hog the power rack for squats, bench press, etc.

Nomination for "I'm that guy" #2.

Maybe he just dosnt know the damn machines Phrost! I know Im not a weight lifting genious and even after going to the gym for years I still dont understand half the damn machines and get a little intimidated trying a new one for the first time. Im sure everyone has done the whole... "Should I start with 85 pounds? Or is that way to much? Or is that to little.. wich asshat should I look like today, the ***** who puts to little weight on or the fucker who grabs every plate to do half a rep?"

I think the REAL asshole was the guy who took a picture of some fucker using a machine or rack the incorrect way instead of being a decent human being and suggesting he use a preacher pad bench for his curls like normal fuckers do.